News

Back to scientific basics with the building blocks of the universe

(18 October 2002)

The Prime Minister Tony Blair today opened a £20 million science complex at the University of Durham that combines world-class research into the building blocks of the universe and a mission to inspire a new generation of young scientists.

Mr Blair said: "I have no doubt at all that great things will be done and discovered here. For a new generation of young people in an area like this, which has gone through massive economic changes in the past few years, it offers the prospect of a future that they can both work in, understand and prosper in."

The Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics provides state-of-the-art accommodation for two scientific teams, each working at the forefront of research at opposite ends of the known physical scale:

• At one extreme, the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) probes the past, present and possible future development of the universe, with calculations running into millions of light-years
• at the other, the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IP3), dealing with the tantalisingly miniscule landscape of the sub-atomic world of electrons and quarks.

The new facility is also the base for a Public Understanding of Science and Technology project, funded by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). It draws on the research work to develop new teaching materials for schools and stimulate young people to aspire to be the scientists of tomorrow.

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